It feels like August outside. I’ve been catching up from being at 4-H camp last week, and I’m still working on getting around to everyone. For the most part, all the fields I’ve been in have looked pretty good.
Peanuts: Hot days + warm nights + high humidity = white mold. With these showers that have been around, keep in mind that chlorothalonil may need 8 hours for optimum drying time, while something like Priaxor may need 2 hours. Usually, when it comes to fungicide drying time, the longer the better, but if the peanut crop goes too long, perhaps 24 hours, without rain or irrigation, control of leaf spot diseases is strong, but management of white mold is compromised. Some lessers have popped up around in spots; Vantcor or Diamond are our options for them.
Cotton: Plantbugs have been increasingly problematic over the past few years. We are almost certain that we have pyrethroid-resistant plant bugs in the state. Transform and Centric are our best options for pre-bloom cotton. They’ll get aphids as well. I don’t like Acephate when cotton is squaring; it’s hard on beneficials, and we need those. There are a few whiteflies floating around in spots, but no jailbreak yet; I would continue to scout and spray at threshold.
Corn: Southern Rust has been found in Tift and in Colquitt. I would spray corn if it’s tasseling; if it’s hard dough or beyond, I wouldn’t spray. I would use a fungicide with two modes of action; it’ll give you about 3 weeks of protection.
Pecan: The pecan crop looks good so far. I am hearing much the same from the other counties. We are still in the midst of the June drop, but the nut set has been good overall. Surprisingly, I’ve heard that the nut set in the hurricane-damaged areas of East Georgia has been better than expected. Scab pressure has been tremendous over the last 2 to 3 weeks, with almost daily rains in some areas making it difficult to apply and maintain sprays long enough to provide the desired protection. This is making the crop more expensive to grow because it requires frequent spraying, often every 7-10 days in some areas, particularly on highly susceptible varieties. From this point forward, Miravis Top and Dodine/Tin should be rotated for optimal nut scab control. The nuts are at their most susceptible point of the season, and these chemistries have been proven in multiple years of Dr. Tim Brenneman’s scab trials to be the best options for nut scab control.